A Moon-flooded prairie;
a dreaming Of brown-fisted farmers;
a gleaming Of fireflies eddying nigh,
And that is July!
James N. Matthews (1852–1910)

Julius Caesar named July after himself when he reworked the old Roman calendar. Ironically, the change went into effect in 44 B.C., the year Caesar was assassinated. I don’t know if that means anything but it’s definitely a fun fact. Welcome to the July newsletter.

DEIST?

A person who believes that God created the universe and then abandoned it is a deist. In an attempt to discredit the founding fathers of our country, and make it easy to deny that ours is a country developed on Christian beliefs, many have called them deists. Luckily, there are many now who have given overwhelming evidence to reverse that trend. History books can be changed often for any agenda but facts can’t be denied.

There’s a famous painting showing George Washington kneeling beside his horse and praying. A favorite prayer that he wrote and was passed down through the military is what he prayed then and I’d like to pass it along now.

“Almighty God, we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of Whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

On the 4th of July, we celebrate Independence Day by gorging ourselves with food and drink while we get together with friends and family. Men will drink beer in the sun as they pitch horseshoes while the women gossip in the shade and the kids play in the pool. Most of us have the day off while an unfortunate few are delivering pizzas and gas stations will stay open selling a record amount of ice and cigarettes. Most will swarm to a nearby park for fireworks before heading home. No prayers will be read.

Liberals teach our children from history books rewritten to support a liberal agenda. They call the founders deists to make them appear less than the devout Christians they were. They want to take God out of the equation when talking about the beginning of our country. But, who understood more, the need for freedom of religion; the founders or the party goers? Which group prayed every day, in the name of Jesus? Which group was willing to die for our unalienable rights?

I’m not saying we should stop celebrating on the 4th with gusto, but I am saying the people of our country have become the very deists we accuse the founders of being when we forget the reason behind the celebration. Also, we are less than deists if we don’t teach our children the real history of our countrty and honor those who died for our unalienable rights.

I like the term unalienable rights because it means rights given us by God. Big governments can’t give any of us those rights; only God can. A government can only serve to protect those rights. Our founders believed in those rights and died to pass them on to us. The founders weren’t deists but rather hard core religious, God fearing men. They firmly believed that trusing in God was the best insurance of those rights. Our country has survived a lot of wars and very trying times since then, but only because God has watched over us.

Independence Day falls on a Sunday this year, so saying a prayer such as the one George Washington wrote shouldn’t feel awkward at all. The good General knew all too well that God never abandoned us but I feel like there’s a good many people abandoning God these days. Because of that, I fear for our country and our unalienable rights. It’s never a good time to abandon God or be deists.

The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.
Psalm 25:14